A friend of mine had great fun going in to buy a car carrying a briefcase. She negotiated her deal on the car, and then when they tried to set up financing, she told them she wanted to pay for the car up front. In cash. Actual cash. The briefcase was full of it. She told us later she had been tempted to point out that they were "non-consecutive bills" but thought that might be pushing it. They did not know what to do, and ended up calling in several extra car salesman to help count the money (she'd had it organized, of course, but they had to verify).

My dad did that once. They had to give him $40.57 in change--but they didn't have any change, because no one ever buys a car for cash. They had to ask him if he would take a check for what they owed him.

The salesman was pretty darned surprised at getting cash. I think he was also worried about whether he could get it all to the bank before it closed.

The ac-dc wall charger for my tablet disappeared. After a couple of days, mom finally fessed up to throwing out "a weird looking wire". So I tried all sorts of places, including Radio Shack, to get a replacement. No luck. I finally get in touch with the manufacturer over the phone (they never responded to my emails) and they tell me to mail a check or money order with a written request for a wall charger. No, they don't take orders over their website.

So over three weeks ago I mail my order with a personal check. I gave it a little time due to the upcoming holidays, but they couldn't give me any updates when I called last week.

The ac-dc wall charger for my tablet disappeared. After a couple of days, mom finally fessed up to throwing out "a weird looking wire". So I tried all sorts of places, including Radio Shack, to get a replacement. No luck. I finally get in touch with the manufacturer over the phone (they never responded to my emails) and they tell me to mail a check or money order with a written request for a wall charger. No, they don't take orders over their website.

So over three weeks ago I mail my order with a personal check. I gave it a little time due to the upcoming holidays, but they couldn't give me any updates when I called last week.

“For too long, we've assumed that there is a single template for human nature, which is why we diagnose most deviations as disorders. But the reality is that there are many different kinds of minds. And that's a very good thing.” - Jonah Lehrer

I've tried universal adapators and they didn't work. The ones I found on Amazon weren't for my model and Craig's customer service couldn't tell me if one for another model would work or not. Believe me, I went crazy trying to find a charger that would fit and work.

If you know the charging requirements (usually it will be something like "Output: 5V ---- 1A"), then you can search for the exact power requirements. As long as the charger you buy has the proper connection, and has the exact power output you need, you'll be set.

If you know the charging requirements (usually it will be something like "Output: 5V ---- 1A"), then you can search for the exact power requirements. As long as the charger you buy has the proper connection, and has the exact power output you need, you'll be set.

Or a lower output. We're having this problem with our Kindle Fire--Amazon's power adapters never last long and we need yet another new one. Our Fire is still under warranty so it should be free, but since they introduced the second generation Fire they don't make those chargers anymore--the second generation Fire comes with a mini USB cord and you have to buy a wall charger separately, which is "currently unavailable" from Amazon. They tried giving us a second generation Fire but I hated it, plus I thought it was stupid to replace a $200 tablet instead of a $20 charger. So they're sending a second refurbished charger (even though they assured me that they're all quality tested, the first refurbished one was so loose it literally fell out of the Fire) and I have to use my cell phone charger for now, which is half as powerful. It works, just much much more slowly. Not really a "never shopping there again" offense (yet), but I probably couldn't say that about Amazon anyway since we order so much stuff from them.

If you know the charging requirements (usually it will be something like "Output: 5V ---- 1A"), then you can search for the exact power requirements. As long as the charger you buy has the proper connection, and has the exact power output you need, you'll be set.

I tried that, I really did, but the blasted thing wouldn't charge with the charger that wasn't made by the company. I tried 3-4 different chargers (once I found ones that would actually fit). And unlike any other device I've dealt with (including mom's cheapo smart phone), it won't charge off the computer.

If you know the charging requirements (usually it will be something like "Output: 5V ---- 1A"), then you can search for the exact power requirements. As long as the charger you buy has the proper connection, and has the exact power output you need, you'll be set.

I tried that, I really did, but the blasted thing wouldn't charge with the charger that wasn't made by the company. I tried 3-4 different chargers (once I found ones that would actually fit). And unlike any other device I've dealt with (including mom's cheapo smart phone), it won't charge off the computer.

Yeeeah, that's definitely a deal breaker for me. If the company goes out of business, I have a plastic brick. NUH UH.

I have a Belkin surge suppressor with both regular plugs and usb outlets on it. I use it to charge all of my devices. It is less than $12. I have had mine for nearly two years and use it all the time. We love it so much we bought another for DH and DS.

That's crazy, Reika. No wonder you're frustrated!! My DD's Nook Color charging cable broke after just 4 months and of course it's just slightly different from allll the many other micro USB chargers we have. The replacements are $20 and the reviews are full of people complaining how easily they break. Meanwhile my Kindle charger is still like new after 3 years and even if it broke all the standard chargers fit it just fine. Ten points for Kindle!